Blast from the past

Courtney’s post on Retro Knitting reminded me of a booklet/magazine that’s been on my knitting shelf for what seems like forever.

This one is a 1965 reprint of a magazine originally published in 1952. It used to belong to my Aunt Vivian, who gave it to me when I was in high school. I remember knitting these slippers!

And check out this dress:

Aunt Vivian used to make clothes for our Barbie dolls. Does this look familiar?

The sash is long gone. I found this dress, along with some other treasures. The other items are from more doll clothing booklets, and I have those, too. Check out what a fashionably dressed Barbie was wearing in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s. Styling sheath dresses:

Mohair winter coat, scarf, hat:

A sequined shell:

And this half of a skater outfit. I love the mohair edging on this. I wonder where the fabulous flared skirt went? I’ll have to check with my sister; she has the other half of the doll clothes!

Check out this elegant skirt.

Especially the waist shaping!

Aunt Vivian loved to knit and crochet. She made lots of clothes for our dolls, and vests for us. In her later years she knit many, many hats for the homeless. How lucky was I? Two knitting aunts, one on each side of the family.

Oh, by the way, I’ve been backwards sleuthing: Aunt Rose must have taught me to knit the summer I was 14, not 16. Beginning the summer I was 15 almost 16, I worked in a salmon cannery in Alaska during the summers, to earn money for college. Hey, I’ve just gained two years of knitting history!

The running joke in my family was that when my sister and I played Barbies, I used to love to sew and make clothes for mine, and do their hair. My sister would just staple or sticky tape some fabric around hers and spend her time constructing make believe situations for them and her!

I used to sew Barbie clothes all the time. My mom would give me scraps of fabric. I’d buy real patterns. Once the sewing machine needle went right through my index finger–little trip to the ER for a tetanus shot followed that one. Once she gave me a scrap of a fur stole she was lining so Barbie could have a fur too. (I still have the human sized fur–can’t think of what to do with it as I will never wear it.) Anyway, thanks for the trip down memory line.